Ganglion Cell Classification in Other Species

Abstract

Classifications of retinal ganglion cells have been proposed for several species other than the cat, including both mammals and nonmammals. The “parametric” and “feature extraction” approaches to cell classification distinguished in studies of cat ganglion cells (Chapters 1 and 2) are also apparent in the work discussed here; and, as in the cat, some of the variety in the way cells have been classified and named can be usefully understood in those terms. Perhaps the most important aspect of a comparative survey of ganglion cell groupings, however, is the insight such comparisons provide into the phylogenetic history of ganglion cells, and their groupings.